Jackman's Waste Audit 2017

Yep!  We did it again.  Another waste audit.  We saved all of Tuesday’s garbage for a thorough investigation.  We will use this data to encourage everyone to reduce the garbage we make at school even more.

Are you ready for this?  The total mass of Tuesday’s garbage was... 19 kg!  Impressive!   That’s 5kg less than last year.  Actually, it's our lowest waste audit score EVER.  

Does that mean it's time to relax?  Nope.  There’s still lots of work to do, many improvements to make.  Here is a summary of what we found…

Recyclables - just 1 kg (That’s less than last year.)

    Paper, boxboard (Most papers can be recycled.)
    Juice boxes, 6 of them (They should have been emptied and recycled.)
    Plastic food containers (They should have been rinsed & recycled.)
    Plastic water bottles and drink containers (It's easy to recycle these.)
    Styrofoam containers (Rinse and recycle these too.)
    Milk bags (Even these can be rinsed and recycled)
    Plastic spoons and forks (Did you know these can be recycled?)
    Plastic shopping bags (Yes, bags can be recycled.)

Food Waste - about 3 kg (That’s more than last year.  What happened?)

    Sandwiches, bagels, pizza… (Kids need to eat lunch, not waste it.)
    Cookies (Who would throw away yummy, homemade cookies?)
    Whole Fruit, bananas (They should have been eaten… or composted.)
    Fruit scraps, banana peels, apple cores (Perfect for our garden compost.)
    Unopened/uneaten snacks (Should have been eaten or taken home.)
    Other spoiled foods like cookie dough, spanakopita, syrup (Very odd.)

 

Paper Towels and Soiled Papers - about 3 kg (That’s less than last year.)

    Paper towels from bathrooms, not many  (Our green bin program is working!
    Paper towels and tissues from classrooms (Let’s use city compost more often.)

Real Garbage - (LANDFILL) - about 10 kg (That’s 3 kg less than last year!)

    Snack wrappers, lots of them (We’ve got to find a way to reduce this!)
    Dixie cups (Let’s use more reusable cups and less disposable cups.)
    16 coffee cups (Again, reusable coffee cups are the way to go.)
    Craft materials (String, straws, beads, fabric, foam pieces, glitter etc.)
    Black plastic (Black plastic must go in the garbage, not recycling)
    Sand, dust and dirt (Probably swept up by the caretakers.)
    Broken toys (It happens.)
    Photocopy carbons

Reusables - about 1 kg (This is less than last year.)

    Pencils and Markers (Pick them up before they get swept away.)
    Snack containers and water bottles (These should have been reused.)
    3 plastic IKEA cups (Just wash and reuse.)
    Toy cars and playdough (What are they doing in the garbage?)

Other – about 1 kg

    Batteries (Not in the garbage but set aside for proper disposal.)
    Used markers (We collect these & take them to Staples for a recycling.)
    Rocks (How did they get in the garbage?)
    Diapers (Yes, these can be added to the green bin too.)
    Freezies (Very odd.)

With knowledge comes change.  Let’s use this information to further our waste reductions efforts.  Together, we can Make Less Garbage at Jackman!

Recycling... Get it Right!

I came home from school yesterday and found a letter in the mail from the City of Toronto.   I momentarily panicked thinking it was a notice about increased taxes, an unpaid parking tickets or another issue.

Instead, I read a plea to the residents of this city to recycle properly.  Apparently, there's too much contamination in Toronto's recycling system.   Too many people recycling the wrong things.  And it's costing the city millions of dollars.  The letter explained the problem thoroughly and made several suggestions to help Toronto residents get it right.   

Oddly enough, Jackman's eco team conducted a waste audit today.  And after we sorted through the garbage, we took a close look at 1 day's worth of recycling at Jackman.  And guess what we found?!?!   Lots of papers, lots of plastics and... very little contamination!  Just one apple core, a couple snack wrappers, two pieces of black plastic, 1 Dixie cup, and 2 unrinsed containers. Not much contamination at all.  Just a few adjustments away from becoming recycling experts.

Keep up the good work, Jackman!

Gearing Up for Another Waste Audit

Jackman's eco goal is simple... MAKE LESS GARBAGE!   It takes a little thought, a little planning, a little extra effort. But it's worth it.  We hope everyone will join us as we strive to make less garbage. 

And soon, we will put our garbage to the test.  We will conduct another waste audit.  We save a whole day's worth of Jackman's garbage.  The eco team will conduct a thorough investigation to see exactly what is in there.   

It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.  :-)

We will sort it, discuss it, count it, measure it and document it.  Then we use this data to make plans for further waste reduction.  Look at our data from the last few years...

2013 -total waste 36 kg 

2014 -total waste 32 kg 

2015 -total waste 22 kg

2016 -total waste 24 kg

As you can see, we are making less garbage overall.  What will 2017 bring?  Are we making less garbage at Jackman?  We hope so.   And soon we'll know exactly how much.  

Granola Bars

You've got to try this... our homemade granola bar recipe.   They're actually pretty easy to make.   And best of all... wrappers-free.   No garbage.    

We also love this recipe because you can easily modify it to add your favourite ingredients.   

The recipe was recently posted on our 'waste-free jackman' blog.   Check it out and give this recipe a try.  You'll be glad you did.

waste free jackman blog - homemade granola bars

Working to make Jackman a waste-reduced school.  Got another waste-free snack or lunch idea?  Please share it with us so we can share it with others. 

Leaves

Jackman's got lots of trees and you know what that means... tons of fall leaves.  So, many classes got right to work.  We raked up those fallen leaves.  We put some leaves in our school's garden compost.  We put some leaves directly in the school gardens.   And we bagged the rest.  20+ bags!  The city will pick up these bags on Wednesday and turn them into nutrient-rich compost.  Perfect!

Check out these pics...